While Ever grew up in Texas, it was Gloucester—her mother’s hometown—where we went to celebrate the beginning of the holiday season in those first months of our relationship. I was eager to meet Ever’s grandmother and aunts, and find out as much as possible about this family I was so hoping to join. 

My plan was to wait until the meal was over and all the guests had left before inviting Ever to join me near the fireplace in the living room. A thousand details swirled in my mind. But first, that wondrous day…

Poetry. Cooking. Singing. Feasting. “Mimi,” Ever’s grandmother, who had long served as Gloucester’s family doctor, regaled me with stories of her husband circumnavigating the globe as a Merchant Marine Captain. In between singing Irish folk songs, Aunt Donna recited poems from memory by Hopkins, Donne and Frost.

From the kitchen, amazing smells wafted along with Aunt Liz’s peals of laughter as she turned out the family trademark of good home-cooking. In the dining room, a large copy of Holbein’s regal portrait of St. Thomas More hung above the fireplace, solemnly regarding our merriment.

It was a feast for the senses. And as the day moved closer to evening, I became more and more aware of each person who made up this extraordinary family—and the ways in which their presence and gifts were contributing to the rich feast we were all enjoying. This family was steeped in its own utterly unique family culture, memories, traditions, and stories so different from my own Midwestern upbringing, and yet so near as we shared the same faith.

In the fourth week of the month, we focus on ways to deepen our Family Culture, or Level 4 of our Trinity House. That Thanksgiving Day, so long ago now, I clearly saw the heart of family culture. The thing that really stands out is the loveliness of being together and of each sharing gifts to bring delight to one another. No matter where you look, a Trinity House is undergirded and enlivened by a communion of persons!

As so much of life in 2020, this Thanksgiving will be challenging and memorable. But no matter how small our gathering, we can still rekindle the poetry, singing, story-telling—or whatever our own family loves to do together. Whether poetry or football, board games or piano music, what we do together is, at its heart, a way of expressing and enjoying the love we share. In other words, let’s dig in to family culture and revel in the wonder of the people we love.

Late on that Thanksgiving of 2000, the guests finally did leave. I stoked the living room fire, patted my pocket one last time…and she said Yes! Twenty years later, Ever and I still cherish our Thanksgiving anniversary. And we join you in giving thanks to Our Lord for the people who make our family culture and the enjoyment of a holiday feast possible! 

“All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your faithful shall bless you. They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom, and tell of your power.” (Ps. 145:10-11).

Heaven in Your Home Toolkit 

“Cultivate Gratitude at Thanksgiving” at Focus on the Family offers helpful age-specific ideas for leading our children to a deeper understanding of gratitude. 

“How Gratitude Changes You and Your Brain” at Greater Good Magazine outlines four specific ways that regular habits of gratitude lead to better health.  

“Get out your Bibles, take a look at it (Mt. 25) again. Read it prayerfully. In that passage, we find the criterion by which to determine whether we are following the King or not,” says Bishop Barron in his probing and challenging Christ the King Sunday homily (video).

In “Making the Family Spiritual Pilgrims (Virtually)” (Crux), Ken Balbuena at the St. John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, D.C., offers 5 ways the Shrine can be a resource for your family this Thanksgiving and Advent.  

In “Christ is Coming: Are We Ready?” (for OSV News), Joe Grabowski points us to Mary: “Advent provides us with an opportunity to make room in our lives for the choice of Mary and to set aside, at least for a time, that of Martha… This season is about preparing to welcome him, clearing out our spiritual homes and bestowing them fittingly so that, when he comes, we can just listen to him, learn from him.“

Around the Corner…  

This Sunday, the journey of Advent begins!

With Black Friday and Cyber Monday around the corner, have you chosen Trinity House Community yet as your AmazonSmile non-profit recipient? Just go to to your Smile.Amazon.com page, and under “Your Account,” choose “Your Amazon Smile” and select “Trinity House Community” as your recipient. And then don’t forget to shop at smile.amazon.com. Thank you! 

Next Tuesday is Giving Tuesday, the day we’ll launch our 2020 year-end appeal to support the life-changing ministry of Trinity House Community. We have bold plans for reaching more families in 2021. Help us reach our year-end goal with your one-time gift or monthly commitment. 

Small Business Saturday is Nov. 28.  Keep Trinity House Café in mind as you do your Advent and Christmas shopping.  The Café’s Market features artisan-made gifts, stationery, original art, iconography, new children’s books, and used books. From stocking-stuffers to sacramentals, come see what we have in store! 

Trinity House Cafe will play a special part in the Fifth Annual Leesburg Nativity Tour, an ideal Christmas activity for the whole family during the continued caution for large crowds due to Covid. Leisurely stroll through historic Leesburg visiting shops and restaurants displaying the Nativity Tour Poster. Sometimes the nativity will be displayed in a front window, other times venture into the store to search for it. Pick up up the promotion card and get it stamped at featured merchants. Fill up your card and get a free drink at Trinity House Cafe.

Testimonial

“So, we can say then that the domestic church, which is the smallest expression of the Church, is one that finds its deepest model in the Trinity. Here at Trinity House, the family is often called the “Trinity House,” not meaning the physical place here, but a living Trinity House, a living family that models the Trinity. This is a wonderful expression, and Soren and Ever have enabled us to understand that, as a living Trinity House, the family is marked by the aspects of welcome, listening and serving. Yes, welcoming, listening and serving.”
— Bishop Emeritus Paul S. Loverde in his 11/21 remarks to supporters of Trinity House Community  

Please Join Us In Prayer

In thanksgiving for the many blessings our Lord has given each of us;

That we might begin the holy season of Advent in joyful hope, anticipating the coming of Our Lord;  

For safety and healing for all those impacted by the current surge in COVID-19, and for all medical personnel;

For those struggling with despair, depression, anxiety, and mental illness, that we might seek to love and encourage them; 

For the ministry of Trinity House Community, including the staff of Trinity House Cafe, and all individuals and families who are seeking to reflect the life of the Trinity in their homes.